


Deus Ex Machina

by orphan_account



Category: VALORANT (Video Game)
Genre: Abuse, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Tragedy, Attempted Murder, Backstory, Character Death, Child Abuse, Dark, Darkfic, Despair, Drug Abuse, Drug Addiction, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Fluff, Heavy Angst, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Kidnapping, Melancholy, Murder, Physical Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Romantic Fluff, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Tragedy, Whump, no happy ending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-14 23:02:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29674617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: After her father met his demise in the 1000 Year War, The Vampire, also known as Delilah Velázquez, entered the insidious world of organized crime after her sister got capturedby the insidious Kingdom. Originally human, The Vampire returned the criminal Creed she once abandoned. However, her organization backstabbed her at the very first opportunity they could when the Creed transferred her to a Kingdom internment camp where countless people including her own mother and sister were killed in experiment which left Delilah not instead die but become one of the world's first Homo Superior, a Radiant.When she escaped, the Vampire swore to kill the people that made her the nightmare she had become.
Relationships: Reyna/Sage (VALORANT)
Kudos: 2





	1. The Wayward

“I was hoping we would meet again someday.”

The Vampire remained silent, standing in the large open doorway of the temple. She stared at the Moroccan who seemed to tilt his head in amusement.

It wasn’t exactly the reaction she was expecting, though she wasn’t sure what she should have expected in the first place.

The sun was setting behind her, beyond the small aircraft where Cypher remained inside and waited anxiously, and beyond the mountains of Nepal. The light cast a dark shadow of the once deadly assassin along the snow speckled stone floor, stopping right where the Moroccan quietly sat floating a few inches from the ground.

“There is much on your mind, as is mine. Please sit,” Aamir gestured out before her where a bright red pillow lay in front of her with a small kettle and a cup with soft wisps of steam emitting from it.

“You need not worry about the other agents,” she added, catching the way Delilah's trained eyes subtly glanced around the dark corners of the temple, ”You would not come all this way with ill intentions.”

She hadn’t touched a gun in weeks, her bodysuit was torn to shreds while her gear was given to Valorant for study - hoping for intel or at least the removal of any tracking devices. Kingdom would never find her, least of all here.

With a hesitant nod she entered, slipping off her boots and placing them aside she slowly made her way into the hallowed temple. The silence was deafening, her stomach twisted anxiously, as if her very presence was not welcomed in a place of peace.

It had taken her days to conjure up the resolve to meekly request a ride from Mirai, the poor woman tried but failed to contain his excitement about the very idea which only made the assassin feel worse. Luckily Mirai got the hint and remained quiet during their ride to Nepal, offering soft words of encouragement as she watched the Vampire slowly walk up the steps of Cypher's home alone.

She knelt upon the red pillow and watched as Cypher gently descended, sitting cross-legged and at eye level with her.

The frigid air became heavy.

Yet the two could not feel the cold.

They stared at each other in silence, unreadable faces with thousands of words to say yet there was nothing.

“I must admit, I was quite surprised to hear of what has become of you,” Cypher started slowly. “I am...conflicted,” she sighed, shoulders sagging slightly as she shook her head. “I miss my brother very much, as do many others who sought his wisdom.”

The Vampire had never known much about her targets, save for the head in her iron sights, and the recoil of the pistol.

“Confusion, anger, guilt, hatred - they are all human emotions, yet even I could not rid myself of them after Delilah's death.”  
  
Reyna refused to look anywhere else but her eyes.  
  
“And after many years of seeking peace for myself and others...here you are. I would be a hypocrite to deny you that peace, if you are sincere I will help you in anyway I can. You have the potential to be so much more than you are now, as all people do. I see a hero in you someday.”

At this the Vampire finally spoke, wishing her voice were stronger, “I am no hero.”

Cypher shook her head, “Heroes are not born out of happiness.” Cypher tilted her head curiously at Reyna as she stared at the Moroccan, “Do you think the young woman who brought you here would still be the same had she not seen her world at war? Be lost in the threads of anarchy? See her own monastery burn? Those experiences bring pain and trauma yet she chooses to fight, and finds the happiness and love within her to share with others so they may not suffer as she has.”

Reyna blinked back in surprise, still silent but now genuinely speechless.

“This world, unfortunate as it may be, has created many heroes, many forged from great pain and suffering. My brother’s death brought much sorrow but from the ashes he became a martyr, inspiring thousands to take up arms and raise their voices against injustice.”

If she didn’t know any better, he appeared to be smiling at her.

“Even a teacher never stops learning and seeing you here has given me hope.”

She watched as he lifted a hand up, waiting patiently as the faint blue circle on his palm sparked to life,“Your pain is your own, but you do not have to walk it alone.”

The light glowed with a soft warm yellow light now.

“Would you like to meditate with me? And if you don't mind, would you be so kind to tell me how you came to Valorant?”

"Hope you have the entire night to listen to this"

\---

**15 Years Ago, Plymouth, UK**

It is mid-evening by the time Delilah closes up _May Flowers_ , and already winter-dark.

Inside the flower store had been pleasantly warm and lively up until her mother's last customers had arrived to take their flowers home, smiling and thankful, and now she is left to marvel at how vacuously quiet such a little store can feel with just her in it. Alone, she spends several minutes tidying away equipment, sweeping and mopping floors, and gathering her backpack and coat to leave. The air outside bites at her fingers and her nose as she locks the front door, pressing her palm to the security touch-pad, and she regrets instantly having forgotten her scarf at home.

She had been rushed this morning, in no small thanks to EIzzie, though thinking of her younger sister brings a smile to her lips – tender and small. Delilah will no doubt be home before Vetra, and plans now what she might make for dinner. There is a butcher’s not far from her flower store, and a bakery just beyond it – a sweet after dinner wouldn’t hurt. Her mother and especially her sister will appreciate Pozole, she thinks, cooked with some flame and well-seasoned. They’re always home so late; she would have the time to prepare something to remind them both of Mexico.

Sliding her backpack onto her arms, she waits by the roadside until the traffic signal permits her to cross, and then takes a left. The street is bustling around her, the city dwellers finishing for work as she has, now making their way home or on to some destination that Delilah likes to guess at – a friend’s house for dinner, perhaps, or the theatre with family to see a new play.

At the butcher’s, she stands in line behind a woman wearing a large, faux-fur-lined coat, and several rings adorning each finger over her black suede gloves. Delilah tries to imagine where she’ll be going after she’s collected her order – who the leg of lamb is for; family, friends, and neighbours? Oh, but a dinner party would be so droll. Delilah can hardly remember the last time she hosted one. She certainly does not know enough people, in this new city, to invite back to her home for food nor was she rich enough.

Ahead of her, the woman thanks the butcher, accent thick and familiar. Delilah smiles as she passes, and the woman returns it without hesitation. At least she has this, she muses, a city where strangers will still smile at her on the street, or packed into too-small butcher’s shops, where the chill is almost as pressing as outdoors. It makes it feel just a little more like home, for all she’s missing of it.

She is not long at the butcher’s, but takes her bagged pork in one hand and is ready to half-jog her way into the bakery before closing time, when a flashing billboard catches her eye. The screen’s original advert is interrupted mid-way through, the words _BREAKING NEWS_ coming quick and large where a man advertising a disinfectant product had just been projected. It draws Delilah’s attention, as much as she dislikes to gape in the street, but the news can hardly be new. Even while the city perseveres as though little is changing, the 1000 Year War is an ever-present threat, consuming victims with each day.

That is what she is expecting, at least, a new local crisis, and the billboard delivers.

For seconds, Delilah is left staring at her sister's masked face. It is a picture she is long familiar with – a snapshot taken of him in casual attire. She blinks several times, and yet her surprise does not clear. _But, Vetra—?_ In just a moment, her heart both stutters through several painful beats, and feels as though it might have stopped. Delilah gasps at the message on the screen, her eyes catching on two phrases that have her fingers releasing around her prized pork.

_Gang Shooting. Casualties unknown._

Izzie flits into being like a spare-thought – too fast, near-intangible, with little idea of her intended destination until she arrives there.

She’s out of her grungy apartment before people can so much as ask what's going on.

“A’right, Mrs Olivia Velázquez?” Izzie slid next to a lanky and tanned woman bearing a salt and pepper ponytail. “I heard the shouting from downstairs. What’ya looking at?”

Izzie's gaze flits from the people running around the streets and back towards the middle-aged woman's face. The expression there has Izzie finally slowing down. Olivia looks agitated, although she tries to hide it when Izzie meets her gaze, as though she’s caught her unawares. Before Olivia can conceal the expression again, a weary sigh puffs past her lips, and she turns back to the streets. Izzie follows her gaze, her brow drawing taught.

“Is that—?”

“Yes,” Olivia confirms.

“Why’s people running?” They stare a moment at the street paramedics arriving, the flourscent suits they wore were flashing red and urgent, but still lit. That’s the important thing, Izzie notes. Once the light’s out, that’s it – no patching up, no second chance. “Mrs Velázquez?”

Before Olivia can do more than shake her head in frustrated bafflement, another light begins to flash – this time paired with a minor alarm. The Mexican woman sighs again, pulling up her cellphone in order to answer the call from the people calling her. Behind her, a hand on her shoulder, Izzie waits with bated breath.

“ _Olivia, we’ve got a situation down here_ ,” a friend of her says, and Izzie flashes another concerned look Olivia's way. For her part, Olivia does little more than stop her overflowing eyes from spilling out onto her cheeks.

“Can you handle it?”

“ _Yes, but it’s about—_ ”

Izzie's ability acts on instinct, by now, has her half across the room before she can hear the end of that statement – before, even, she can hear Olivia's quick call for her to not get herself involved. She isn’t a medic, no, but how bloody hard can it be compared to what she does with the underground gangs? She zips down a corridor of unsuspecting people, shouting an apology at the cup of coffee she almost tips from somebody’s hand, and is down five flights of stairs before her stamina nearly depleted itself.

At the inconspicuous reception room, it does not take her more than a quick look to find the disturbance – a woman, so familiar that Izzie's shock doubles before her heart sinks. _Of course she’s here_. On foot, then, she jogs towards the paramedic that Delilah Velázquez is all but assaulting in her bid to gain access to the scene.

She approaches hands-raised, a, “ _whoa, whoa, whoa!_ ” quick out of her mouth before the apparent argument can go much further. The medic steps back, at her approach, uncertain, while Delilah has much the opposite reaction. Izzie is a familiar face that she grasps onto with both tearful eyes, a hand small and shaking at her wrist.

“Please,” she tells her, and Izzie is nodding, already, before she’s even had anything asked of her. “You know what’s happening? There’s someone I can talk to? The news is reporting— _please_. I need to be sure she’s—”

 _Okay_ , Izzie finishes in her mind, and then her stomach twists. _Alive_.

“It’s alright,” she tells her, though Delilah’s shaking head tells her that it isn’t, that nothing about this situation is _alright_. She turns to the street medic, instead, to the one problem that she can actually round-about fix. “This is Vetra's older sis,” Izzie explains, “I can vouch for her. I’m gunna take her upstairs to wait, yeah?”

Only once they’re boarding an elevator does Izzie glance backwards, and while they’re not quite being followed, she can suddenly feel the security cameras on her much keener.

She does not let it put her off. Medics can take it up with Delilah's mother, if they need to, and she is sure that they will.

The elevator rides in tense silence. Once they reach the appropriate floor, Izzie guides them through the door to the apartment's makeshift clinic, turning only to make sure that Delilah is still trailing behind her. She looks little better than she had at the medics– composed, perhaps, but her amber eyes are large and anxious. She had removed her hand from Izzie's wrist as they’d set off, and Izzie has had to stop herself, several times, from reaching out to her in turn.

Izzie knew Delilah since they barely knew how to walk. They had been bosom buddies ever since and their parents knew each other as well. In the world of the poor, Izzie has done everything to aid Delilah's family and Delilah did exactly the same. Even though they may have been the best of friends they gained a mutual respect for each other. 

The woman scurrying behind Izzie in order to keep up now could be someone else entirely. She’d never expected to have Delilah here, not in all of her perfectly coiffed chignon bun glory, and wishes there’d been a better reason for it, than the fear for her sister's life.

Olivia is waiting for them when they arrive.

Izzie shouldn’t be surprised about that, and yet she turns suddenly wide-eyed, feels suddenly years younger. She holds herself awkwardly, uncertain what to do with herself, what to say, but for a half-gesture in Delilah’s direction. But it is Delilah who steps forward, her hands closed into fists by either side, gradually dripping crimson red from her palms onto the dusty concrete floor

“Vetra,” she says, voice breaking, and Olivia looks melancholicly between the pair of them. But, that’s good, Delilah thinks, it must be good. It gives her hope that she grasps onto with both hands lest it try to fight itself free again. Right now, she’ll take anything but pity – anything but that desperate look on the face of the person who has to inform her that she is no longer married.

 _I can't lose a sister after losing all of my brothers, already,_ she thinks. _Mi madre would die from heartbreak._

She shakes her head at the thought, at Olivia and at Izzie both. At the billboard that had brought her here, when she should be at home, preparing dinner, awaiting her family's inevitable return.

“Where is she?”

The medics put them in a windowless room to wait.

The walls are stark and grey, covered in posters and slogans, and dominated by a too-large couch and armchair. Delilah sits in the centre of the former, her body stiff and slumped forward, eyes glued to a television screen. She’s flicked through thirty-three news channels, already, and yet not one has anything more to add than the hair-raising shots of the aftermath from a fight. There is no talk of a body, at least, and only minor civilian casualties.

But this _waiting_ —it will drive her half-mad.

That not even her own people can tell her where Vetra is, how she is, has Delilah's nerves fraying at the ends. All this time, Vetra has told her how safe she was, despite the dangers of the job. How well-looked-after he was. The crew—the medics, the support, the defence that was all put in place to make sure that he would come back to her each day, to late dinners and a shower before his exhausted body falls into bed beside her.

She can deal with his haphazard timetable – the never being able to commit to plans for fear of his work sweeping him away halfway through them – but _not this_. Half an hour might have passed already, and her body aches with it, with exhaustion and fatigue and hunger. Feeling ill with the news images on screen, suddenly, she mutes the television and folds in on herself – both hands to her face.

Delilah could have lost her while standing in line at the butcher’s, while considering beef or pork. She could have been fretting over which dessert her evening palette would prefer while Vetra was looking down the business end of a semi-automatic. What had been the last thing she’d said to Vetra, earlier this morning? Had Delilah even told her how much she loves her?

Guilt comes to her, heavy and confusing, and Delilah takes a breath as she begins unfolding herself from her place on the sofa. She cannot sit like this for a second longer. Slowly, she teases each aching muscle until she can stand straight, and folds her arms around her ribs. Thirty minutes – forty, perhaps – and still no news. Is that good or bad?

Before she can begin to fret anew, the previously empty space to her right warps into a figure, as though the air had simply spat her out, and Delilah’s frayed nerves have her gasping almost straight out of her heels. Izzie is at once apologetic, looking at her with those big, brown eyes, palms-forward as though to calm her. Delilah relaxes when she sees her, the scare having allowed her to dispel every note of tension tight within her body, and yet without it holding her up, she suddenly realises just how tired she really is.

“Is there any news?” she asks, and feels the urge to fall to her knees so consuming when Izzie gives only a timid shake of her head, that it takes a reserve of willpower that she was unaware she possessed to keep her upright. Recognizing her fatigue, Izzie's apologetic expression turns into a half-pitying smile.

“I know just what you need,” she promises, and beckons Delilah towards the back of the room, where various appliances have been set up.

To call it a kitchen would be an overstatement, although it has everything one would need for a working lunch. Izzie goes to the coffee machine, first, filling it with cold water and putting it on to boil as she locates two clean mugs. coffee strainers next, before Delilah can speak up, though she will take coffee and even be grateful for it, at this point.

She doesn’t have another fight left in her.

“There’s nothing like a good cuppa to steel the nerves,” Izzie says when she presses the mug into her hands, so hot that Delilah almost drops it in her rush to take the handle. She does not try to sip from it yet, but blows an exhausted sigh over its steaming surface. Before her, her own mug in hand, Izzie offers another of those pitying smiles. “Don’t worry,” she tells her, voice soft, “we all know what Vetra's capable of. She’ll be back here before you know it – I’d bet my left arm on it.”

Delilah stares between her young, hopeful face, to the left arm in question, raised palm-up and on display so as to showcase its worth. She wishes she could manage a smile – a thank you, perhaps, for the coffee. Instead, a quiet nod of her head, and Izzie's smile fades.

“Well, then,” she says, and Delilah is given the sudden impression that Izzie wouldn’t know what to do with silence, were it ever forced upon her. 

“Should it be taking this long?” Delilah asks her. “Shouldn’t she have a way to contact the people here – wouldn’t somebody be with her? She said she’s never asked to fight alone, that there’s a group of you—a team?”

“Oh, sure,” Izzie agrees. “Only—well, it’s a little difficult to ring home while you’re getting fired at, you know? Oh, no—” she hastens to add, watching Delilah’s face pale. “No, she isn’t alone. your mother said at least four of ‘em are out there Communication’s down, but we know they’re sending up a signal from somewhere. We’ve just gotta wait until they get back.”

Delilah huffs a sigh, looking down at the coffee that she does not want. When she lifts her head again, Izzie looks expectant, hopeful, as though waiting for Delilah to show a sign of having heard her pep talk and taken her words on board. And oh, but she wishes she could. She closes her eyes a moment, curses quietly in her native language, and then forces her mouth into a small smile.

“I cannot help but think the worst.”

Izzie's face drops again, so emotive that Delilah is half-certain she could name every new expression, and then she’s stepping forward, a hand to Delilah’s arm, the soft press of her fingers in what she thinks is supposed to be a reassuring squeeze. That smile comes to Izzie's lips, again, but gentler now – no longer pitying.

“We take care of our own here, alright? Any one of us would do all they could to keep another on their feet. That’s like family.”

She’d meant to inspire hope, Delilah thinks, and yet she finds herself feeling suddenly cold – feeling suddenly very, very alone. It’s a selfish thought, but it comes too quickly for her to discard, with a bitterness in her mouth that asks how it’s right that Vetra should have _family_ , while she struggles even to make friends among the frequent visitors to her mother's flower shop.

She discards the thoughts as quickly as they come, and then nods her head, accepts Izzie's words for the truth that she’s sure Izzie believes in. Distressed, she turns her attention back to her cup of tea. Her first sip is far too milky, sweetened as Izzieprefers it, and burning so hot still that she feels its progress right down to the bottom of her stomach.

 _Like family_ , she hears again, and wonders why Vetra has never used that term to describe her work friends to her before.

Before she can properly respond, a noise from the lab draws her attention. Izzie's gaze darts towards the door before Olivia can arrive within its frame, her large eyes fixing on Delilah, and with a strange smile on her lips – but Delilah knows what that means. Her mother hardly needs to speak before her daughter's gasping and following after her, demoting her still-hot coffee to the nearest surface.

They arrive back in a calamity of unfamiliar voices.

Delilah watches their approach in slow motion, her heart _thud-thud-thudding_ inside her chest, hands clenched by either side. It’s not until she sees Vetra among the small crowd of crime operatives that she can finally catch her breath. She cuts a striking figure in her armoured suit, her skin dark against its silver plating, her face as soft yet sharpened as it was in her youth. Seeing her, alive, unharmed, feels like breathing for the first time since she’d stopped before that billboard advertisement.

Vetra is slow to notice Delilah, her attention on the mask between his hands, fingers picking at a part of the plating that has come loose. She nods, sparingly, to the woman following half a step behind her, speaking animatedly while she scratches off notes on her clipboard.

Delilah hears the tail end of what she’s saying, a _take two and call me in the morning_ , without once looking up from her writing. She continues on for half a step too long, pauses just in time to notice the almost-stranger in the lab, and then pivots back towards the place where Vetra has stopped, mid-step, a knowing smile at her lips.

“Delilah?”

For a moment, Vetra is all concern. Delilah never turned up at her work before, nor had she expected security to let her through but in case of an emergency. In the three long strides that it takes for Vetra to reach her sister, Vetra is half-expecting Delilah to tell him of some awful accident that she’s played witness to, or barely escaped from – is already subconsciously checking her body for injuries. It’s only when Vetra's gaze returns to her sister's face, to the pressed-thin lips and the wobble that she can’t quite keep from her chin, that Vetra realises she’s there for _her_.

“Oh, Delilah,” she sighs, taking her sister in her arms, but Delilah does not let herself be held for long. Vetra presses up on tip-toes, wraps both arms tight around Delilah's shoulders, and squeezes her eldest sister so tightly that she winces. She draws back instantly, a soft noise coming from her mouth, as Delilah just now realises how one of her shoulders hangs awkwardly lower than the other.

“You’re hurt,” she tells Vetra in their native language – quietly, just for her. Vetra responds in kind.

“It was dislocated, nothing serious.”

She shakes her head at that, perceiving the lie. _Assassination attempt_ , the billboard had said, and yet here he is, still in one piece, a few heads shorter than Delilah and smiling as though she can hide the horror that she’s just witnessed behind the whites of Vetra's pearly teeth. Delilah's attention falls suddenly to the mask in her hand, the chipped armour that feels strangely singed when she touches a finger to it. When she turns back to Vetra for an explanation, her expression turns tight with concern. They will talk about this properly, that look says, but later – _later_.

“I could have lost you tonight,” Delilah realises aloud.

Vetra's hand on the small of Delilah's back presses her closer, her chest to his, until the thick of her perfume is cleansing the stink of gunpowder and war from Vetra's nostrils. She breathes her sister in like a drowning man gasps for air, her forehead against her's. Vetra pulls back only to see her face.

“Delilah,” she tells her, “nothing out there could keep me from coming home”

“Don’t— please.”

She tries to lower her face again, but Vetra's fingers catch her chin.

“Come on, it would never be a pleasant day ever back in the house without me” she promises

Having come so close to proving Vetra wrong tonight, she cannot stand to argue. Another day, she will tell her younger sister not to give her promises that she cannot keep. For now, she wraps her arms around her body before pulling Vetra into a tight embrace

Ahead of them, lingering behind all those who have left the lab in order to give the pair a modicum of privacy, Izzie waits in an open doorway. She’s close enough to hear their dulcet conversation, the _I bought you posole for dinner_ , _but_ _I dropped it on the ground_ that she cannot translate, but which brings laughter quick and warm from Vetra's smiling mouth. Delilah looks indignant before she cannot help but join in, hand swatting at her armoured chest.

_In 5 years, Delilah will have all but forgotten this moment._

Inside Izzie's chest, her heart thumps uncomfortably hard, driving blood through her veins quickly enough to give her a rush. She feels suddenly dizzy, thinks she needs to sit down, and yet she cannot tear her eyes away from the brimming, tearful smile on Delilah’s face. She is relief-softened and so bright that it leaves Izzie dazed from staring.

Five years from now, she will wonder if she’s always known, even back then, just how much she’ll miss seeing this smile on Delilah’s face when it has all but disappeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Music I listened to on this chapter:  
> Beast In Black - Sweet True Lies  
> New Order - Blue Monday  
> The Weekend - Save Your Tears


	2. Takeover

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lil bit of a plot change

**Next Morning after Assassination Attempt**

If there was one thing that Delilah hated it was being woken up early. Normally the only time she would be woken up early was when Vetra was sneaking of to either to game with her buddies or do something like getting cereal for breakfast. She wasn't quiet when doing either. The thing that would wake her would be Vetra swearing heavily using Spanish slang or the smoke alarm and the unpleasant scent of burning.

This morning it was different, it was her phone that was ringing and brightly displaying the screen. She didn't want to look at it but as she looked at her bedside clock and realised it was 3:46 in the morning she knew it was something serious. Either that or Vetra was calling her from somewhere to tell her she was alright and chilling with the others.

"Hola…" She said tiredly as she tried to wake herself up. She hadn't even bothered to take a look at the caller ID.

"Del, is that you?" Spoke the other person on the end of the phone. The speaker had a Brazillian accent so Delilah knew who she would be killing later for waking her this early on a Saturday morning.

"Si. Who else would it be?" She replied while rubbing her temples, still trying to adjust her eyes to the brightness of the phone.

"It's me, Izzie. I'm coming over to collect you in 15 minutes. We need to bring you to a secure location. Pack anything important." This was enough to get her out of her sleepy state and into her fully alert mode.

"Izzie it's nearly four in the morning what's going on?" By the tone in her voice Delilah could tell that something had gone down at the clinic and she was now in danger.

"No time to explain now. I'll fill you in later." As soon as Amelie was going to ask her more questions she had hung up on her. Amelie threw the phone on the bed and she got up like a shot. She went to the wardrobe and scanned through her and Vetra's clothes going past a swan lake themed ballet costume, Vetra's racing outfit and her old pilot gear until she was able to find a green bag hanging up.

Thankfully Vetra had already talked her into making a spare bag in case an event like this were to ever arise. She had never thought she would need this but it turns out she was always one step ahead of time. She took the green duffel bag out of the back of the closet and double-checked she had everything.

Spare clothes? Check.

Ammunition and gun? Check.

Picture of them hanging off a tree branch? Check.

She looked at it and remembered how happy she had been on that day. _No debt. No poverty. No crime boss threatening to slice off their necks with blunt butter knives._

The picture took place near the end of November years ago and Vetra had insisted that they see who can climb the tree the fastest and after a lot of begging Delilah agreed and soon enough she could already hear her younger sister falling through the branches back down to the ground.

At the end, Vetra was sent straight to the ER with a fractured pelvis and arm. Made her family waste most of their savings on getting her patched up back up. Inevitably Vetra ended up in a wheelchair apologizing everyday to her older sister for not listening to her.

She needed to snap out it. As much as she would love to reminisce there was something bad happening and she needed to get away from her home as quickly as possible. She gathered up her remaining items and waited in her living room nervously until she heard a car pull up.

She carefully pulled out one of her smaller guns and waited for a sigh that it was friendly and not a certain former member of the underground gang member gone rogue, now wearing a skull mask and a black trench coat.

"Delilah, we need to go." She lowered her gun as she heard the same Brazillian voice that had been on the phone no less than 15 minutes ago. She unlocked the door and saw that Izzie was a mess. Well she normally looked annoyingly perfect but now she had lost her glow and it looked like she had been crying. And out of the corner of her eye she could swear that there was blood on her uniform.

Delilah got into the car with Izzie and now she was finally going to get some goddamn answers. Or at least she hoped anyway.

"Izzie what-!" She tired to get out before she was interrupted by the Brazillian.

"Vetra's gone missing. She's been taken by Kingdom."

"Oh, Dios mío." That's all she could say at the moment. She had just been told the worst news she had ever heard in her life and she was being taken away from the one place where she could still hold some of Vetra's things to give her some hope she was okay. She placed her head in her hands and began to cry. God knows what they were doing to her. Kingdom were cruel and would resort to anything to get information out of her. She hoped that Omen was still in there and he would take pity on her.

She could feel Izzie beginning to comfort her, putting her hands on her shoulders, telling her it was going to be okay and how everyone was working their hardest to find her. She knew they probably were but it still didn't help. She didn't want Izzie comforting her she wanted her sister back. And her goofy attitude to tell her some corny pun to make her smile.

"What happened?" She wanted to know, her sadness fuelling her slowly growing rage.

"I'm not sure but your mother came out of the clinic nearly dead and the last thing she said was that Vetra had been taken by Kingdom. It was all a set up." She said regaining her voice as she needed to focus right now.

Delilah said absolutely nothing before looking up from her hands. She wanted to yell at her and say her mother should have done a better job but she could see Izzie was in the same boat as her at the minute. Not knowing if the one they cherished was okay. It would only be worse if the two of them were crying messes.

"She'll live. Hopefully." Olivia had been badly damaged but thankfully Izzie didn't need to do anything too drastic. Just had to apply basic first aid before the medics arrived. She was healed but still unconscious last time she was with her.

"I'm sorry for dragging you out at this time. It's just protocol as soon as an operative is taken hostage next of kin must be taken to a safe place in case they mOliviage to get information out of them. I don't think Vetra will break though." She said grabbing a tissue from one of her pockets and handing it to the distraught passenger.

"It's the rules. I get it." Delilah answered blowing her nose, trying to get over the worst of it so she could speak more clearly and get as much information as possible.

"What's going to happen now?" The Mexican asked putting away her tissue as she had felt the worst of it go over her.

"We'll fill you in on what we know and get a secure location sorted. We won't know more until your mother regains consciousness. "

As Izzie said that Delilah had been told enough. Now she just wanted some peace and quiet to get herself properly sorted. Izzie could pick up on this and she remained silent, not wanting to disturb her. They both wanted to think over what would happen if their significant other was lost.

\---

About an hour later they had arrived back at the clinic. They had shaved a lot of their time by flooring the gas of their car constantly ignoring the flashes of cameras and the red light flooding their vision.

When they arrived back, Olivia's second in command had been the first to greet them. He clearly too had been working hard to find anything on Vetra. Their gang couldn't afford to lose any more good operatives.

"Izzie, Del. Thank goodness you're her-." He said readjusting his glasses as Reyna suddenly pounced onto him, bringing him down onto the floor as the Mexican started releasing a flurry of punches onto his poor face.

"What happened? Is there news on Vetra?! Where is that Omen son of a-!"

Delilah screamed with all her might at the second in command. She had moved on from her sadness and was now in her anger stage, needing to vent out all of her emotions. He was a 200 pounds of muscle man and yet he had never been so frightened in his life. When Delilah was pissed she was like a one-woman World War. Loud, very dangerous and depending on the situation was normally over in a very short time or it would last 10 years. Delilah only stopped her assault when Izzie yanked her away from the mauled corpse of the heavily muscled man as he moved his split lips to talk.

"Your mother is awake."

Both Izzie and Delilah had sprinted into the infirmary room. Beside the now conscious Olivia were her friends. Their eyes looked like they were begging for sleep but they also had that worried mother glare as well.

"Everybody please go get some rest, you all haven't slept for 2 days." Said Olivia trying to get her friends to look after herself now that she was awake.

"No... No, I don't I will" One of her friends pinched her cheek and Olivia gave a groan of embarrassment. At least Delilah and Vetra wasn't here to see this.

"Mrs Velázquez! Thanks the gods you're awake." Said Izzieas she ran up to someone who she considered to be her second mother, hugging her tight. It was a sweet moment and they would have hugged each other tightly if Olivia wasn't riddled with healing bullet wounds. _"Thank goodness you're okay."_

Delilah while extremely glad that her mother was safe and sound she was more concerned with finding her sibling. She decided to cough and get their attention.

They all turned to look at the source of the noise and their attention was directed at the distraught woman and immediately the room was filled with a lot more dread and anxiety. Izzie stopped giving Delilah's mother the tightest hug possible and looked away to avoid her eyes. She felt like the guilt would eat her alive more than it already was.

"Delilah! what are you doing here?" said one of her mother's friends' trying to take away some of the pressure that had been directed onto her friend. Delilah was still glaring at her mother but she then directed her attention onto the older woman beside her.

"Where is Vetra? What happened?" She asked checking around one more time to make sure that Vetra wasn't just unconscious and Izzie had make some kind of mistake and she had been found by the time they had been travelling to the base.

Olivia sighed knowing she would have to tell them what happened but now that her daughter was in the room it was going to just be that bit harder. She knew she had failed her duty and now she had to tell it in front of everyone.

"I was on guard duty…"

"Oi mom, How are things going with the doc? Bet you two are having a smashing time." Vetra said as she and her mother were carefully making their way to where the hidden clinic. 

"Pretty well. All I need to do know is get my brothers to stop embarrassing me in front of him and everything will be perfect."

"I'm sure they're not that bad." She reassured her.

"Baby pictures Vetra. Really. Ugly. Baby. Pictures." She said as Vetra remembered one of the pictures in her uncle's hat. It was her mother making a really ugly face accompanied with very chubby baby cheeks.

"Yikes, you got to admit that those photos were kinda funny." She said to lighten the situation.

"How is your sister doing? I don't think I've seen her since I left to give you two some privacy" Her mother said wondering how her eldest daughter had been doing looking around at some papers that had been left on a desk.

"She's been fine. I convinced her that I'll be alright. She's back at our house now." She scanned around the room just to make sure that no one else was there.

"You know she's gonna keep worrying Vetra."

"I know but she's stronger than you know. She'll be alright" Olivia rolled her eyes. Scanning for any more useful documents before they could go to the operation room.

"It won't last long. They never do." The sceptical-ness in her voice was ringing clearly.

"You're dating our doctor. And I'm pretty sure Delilah is doing everybody in the base. And then there's probably your sister and-" Vetra said putting her in her place. Olivia turned a shade of red not even thought possible before countering her argument.

"Well yes, but that's diff-"She was going to interrupt but a sudden loud bang had got Olivia to lift up her weapon. Ready to attack what was coming. It had come from a corridor on what seemed to be the floor above. _Strange. I thought we were the only people in the clinic beside the surgeons._

"It's clear."

Vetra dashed forward to join her and then they both looked around to see if they could track the source. It seemed to come from a pile of wooden boards. Vetra sped over to it to check it out while her mother kept a look out, making sure there were no sneaky enemies waiting to attack.

"I guess it was nothing. I wonder what did make that noise though." Just as Vetra stated it she spotted a sniper outside the window, aiming right for her mother's head. She pushed them both to safety as the bullet missed them by a fraction of a second.

"Where did that come from? How many were there?" Olivia asked readying her light purple and silver pistol, readying to aim at the attempted assassin.

"It's all a setup!" Vetra cried as she began to zigzag all around the room whilst her mother kept shooting at the source. As she made her way around she began to notice more people wearing armour bearing the Kingdom logo surrounding them. By the time her stamina was gone she had counted at least 20 more Kingdom agents with guns.

"Vetra! You think you can shoot?" her mother shouted taking out 2 who were hiding behind a wall with her fists.

"I can but I need a gun. Give me one!"

"I can't find any! I'm not-" She was stopped midsentence by a dark presence that was filling up the room. She couldn't take her eyes of the shadow like figure that was forming before her. The man with three vertical blue lines under his hood was one she knew all too well.

_One of the best Kingdom agents_

_Omen_

_The thorn in her ass_

"Omen…" She tried to say something else but no words came out of her mouth. Omen gave a small laugh before pointing one of his shotgun straight to her face. She dodged to the side as he made a powerful shot just missing her torso.

"It haven't seen you since you were a teenager. Little Olivia, all grown up and old." He taunted as he kept on shooting at where she was hiding. Thankfully due to the fact that it was a construction site she was able to locate several opportunities to take cover and possible attack points.

"What do you want? How did you find this place?" She questioned as she tried to shoot him over and over with bullets. It was all in vain as they simply flew right through his spectral form.

"Not you, just her. " He pointed to Vetra who was now raining her own type of justice onto the unsuspecting agents of evil. Rolling left and right not letting them know what hit them. When she heard her being mentioned she stopped for a moment and dashed to where she could get a good look at him.

"What are you going on about? I don't see-FUCK! AHHHHHHH!" Vetra screamed as she felt her leg get caught in a bear trap, her one weakness. She could feel that it had cut her nearly to the bone. She wanted out of it and now. Olivia took her eyes off of Omen for one moment too look and see if her daughter was okay and he took advantage of her distraction and shot her point-blank in the chest, penetrating her armour.

Olivia could feel the bullet enter her body and it was burning like the fires of hell. She didn't scream but good lord did she want to. She couldn't fail this mission and if she showed any weakness the enemy would win.

With them both not able to move, Omen made his way over to Vetra who was trying to reach for her the pistol she dropped onto the floor to destroy the trap with.

"What should we do with them sir?" One of the few soldiers who had escaped Vetra's hurricane of bullets asked his superior nervously.

"Kill Olivia, Leave Vetra. I have other plans for her. We need her for some experiments."

_"She's more useful to us alive."_

\---

"And how did you escape?" Izzie asked hooked on every last detail of her story.

"They were closing in but I leapt through the nearest window. I was able to call for help before I lost consciousness."

Delilah hadn't been listening to the rest of the story. She had blanked out after one specific part and had only been focusing on that.

"Experiments?" Delilah asked fearfully. She knew that Kingdom would do whatever it took to get results and that most likely meant Vetra would be going through hell until they found her.

"I am so sorry my daughter. If I hadn't got distracted she wouldn't have been taken."

Delilah looked like she was considering what to say next. She could have told her what she truly thought but since she had been shot she decided to go with " _It's okay mother, you tried your best."_

"Did you get anything else? Hear anything useful?" Another one of Olivia's friends said still writing down the last few words from her encounter.

"Yes, I overheard the radio on one of the guards after I threw myself out of the window. Saying they were meeting up at their base in Northern Ireland."

"They only have one known base in Ireland." The same person taking the notes said looking over the report sheet showing the locations of all known bases. It seemed the discreet as no one really bother to look as the base in Ireland had been taken out years ago.

"Where's my suit?"

"Excuse me Delilah but what do you mean?" He asked as he saw Delilah walking out of the hospital room.

"Where is my Creed uniform? I need it if I'm going out." The determination in her eyes was burning bright and nothing was going to stand in her way. Not the criminals, Not Kingdom, Not anyone.

"Delilah I don't think it's a good idea." He said raising one of his giant hands to block the doorway.

"I don't see why not. I have the right training." She argued not even giving him a chance to explain himself.

"It's true. Delilah used to be in the Creed before. She was the Death Blossom" Her mother said speaking up. She saw no reason why her daughter couldn't help out the team if it means _Lo Spettro_ was coming back.

"I'm thinking what if she finds Vetra…not alive…" Olivia's friend couldn't bring himself to say the word dead. The image of his best friend's youngest daughter dead was an unthinkable thing for him. He had saved her once before and he was scared he wouldn't be able to do it again.

"She's being rescued by me. She'll survive" Delilah said steely. She felt a small smirk crawl onto her face as she saw her mother's friends' fight for his argument leaving him.

"It's in locker 34." He said giving in to her demands. No point in holding her back, it was her sister and she could do what needed to be done in order to save her.

"Let's do this"

"Oh I almost forgot"

Reaching inside her coat pocket, Olivia pulled out a silvery signet ring with several intricate patters engraved onto the top.

Sighing, Reyna swiped them from her mother's hands before hesitantly slipping it onto her middle finger.

"Go and find her, Death Blossom"

"I don't go by that name anymore"

"What do you want to be called now?"

" _Reyna_ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Music I listened to on this chapter:  
> Lorde - Everybody Wants To Rule The World  
> SAMURAI - Black Dog  
> P. T. Adamczyk & Olga Jankowska - Never Fade Away


	3. Awakening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of French in this one so better get the translator out

Reyna really lived is anger, almost as cartoon characters do, so lost in that moment and the torment her brain was in. It was perfectly clear in her eyes, then a tension of his muscles, an inability to think clearly soon followed. The rational Delilah was offline and the primitive Reyna who reverted to her old habits was back. Suddenly her liberal opinions were gone,her ability for nuance and emotional generosity were gone too. Her fists would stay firmly by his sides, yet her words did more damage than they ever could. But her friends agreed a while back to use a dog training technique when she got mad, one to remind her that anger is born of pain and sadness, that she needed to calm herself, find herself, ignite her feelings of love and protectiveness in that moment of anger. So, when they saw those flickers of fire they comforted, and instead of saying, "I'm ok," she learned to say nothing, through that gravelly rage, when she managed it, there wasn't a dry eye in the house.

**Northern Ireland, Belfast**

It had only been a couple of hours but already they had set their sights on retrieving one of their best operatives. It had taken no time to get a plane sorted and they were currently on a plane heading towards the obscure country known as Northern Ireland.

They had only chosen a few select people to go on the possible retrieval mission. Delilah was of course there as their main battering force while also being supplied with medical supplies. Izzie volunteered to go mostly because she was the best for backup but partly because she somehow wanted to get even with Omen and even if possible kill him. She knew there was an ice cubes chance in hell of that happening but it was still worth a try.

The others on the mission were only her mother and a few of her friends because they were significantly less lethal than Reyna but still they remained one of the smartest and deadlines forces within the criminal underworld. A few of them were checking their weapons and the others were prepping their tech whilst Olivia who remained in a wheelchair slid over to her daughter who was brandishing a shotgun. She now wore a completely black suit compared to the rest of her gang who simply wore body armour and casual attire.

They had all occupied themselves with something to keep them being anymore stressed than they already were. Vetra was truly a one of a kind person and the fact Kingdom were currently torturing her had made the tension hot and heavy.

"Listen everyone!"

Olivia turned around sharply, drawing the attention of all the mercenaries and assassins within the bus.

"Before we can go get my daughter back we need to stock up. There is a Creed arms dealers here in Belfast. We go in and we get our stuff and get out. Clear?"

Seeing all of them nod their heads slightly, Olivia turned her attention back to Reyna who was sitting back down with a shotgun resting on her lap.

"Are you sure you'll be safe here, mamá?"

"Don't worry about your mother, Mija. Here, I have a gift for you"

Reaching into her coat pocket she yanked out her iconic iridescent silenced pistol before placing it onto her palms.

"Take it Delilah. Use it well."

"Mamá! I can't. That was a gift from papá, it's only for you!"

"I have failed it by not protecting your sister. I know you will not. Take it!"

Hesitant, Reyna gingerly grasped the contoured grip of the pistol, aiming it in front of her before holstering it behind her back.

"I will use it well"

"I know you will, Mija"

Laying her shotgun beside her, Delilah watched as the bus came to an abrupt stop right beside an expensive-looking hotel. 

"There's usually guards outside this hotel. Someone went wrong. Arm yourself everybody"

Reyna cocked her pistol barrel as she readjusted her tie, marching out of the bus doors followed by her teammates spreading around the hotel as Reyna entered the hotel's front door.

The gore, the sick smell that coated her lungs as a rancid tar when she took only a step into the lobby, felt reminiscent of nightmares she'd felt so trapped within. When she managed to get close enough to the countless bodies staining the marble floors she could see their faces. Their eyes were more wild than a deer caught in a trap. There was nothing beautiful about them. Their bodies were scattered all over the floor, and blood trickled down their necks and into their clothes. The only thing prominent about their bodies was the holes on their foreheads. Around the bottom of their foreheads the blood was dry and hard, but still the red liquid drizzled down their faces like rain on a window.

Dashing towards the reception she turned one of the computer monitors towards her to immediately recognize the warning blaring across the screen.

' **Enemy invasion in progress** '

Sighing wistfully, she tapped a few button on the screen before bringing up an incomplete scan of the entire facility.

' **Report Error:**

**Base Casualties: Unavailable**

**Facility Damage: Unavailable**

**Threat Level: Unavailable'**

Before she could fix the errors, her entire screen was taken up with a video call of a petite and pale woman wearing only a grey sweater and a lab coat. Her face was rather angular and beautiful in a way, her poison green eyes were already piercing into Reyna's amber eyes.

"Welcome. I'm Dr Sabine Hawthorne. I'm the head scientist for Kingdom. I think we can work together and resolve this problem in a way that benefits us both"

The sound of shattering glass echoed across the massacred hotel lobby as Reyna threw the computer monitor into a pillar. Red. Everything went red. Her vision blurred as a flame curled in the pit of her stomach. Her brain went on overdrive as it picked every moment that she'd spent worrying about her sister. The memories weighed down on her but instead of breaking even more, her heart turned ice cold and slunk into the shadows as her brain took complete control. The flames in her stomach rose up to her chest and crawling through her veins, took over the rest of her body. Her fingers coiled into fists, nearly crushing the other computer monitors she held. The glass pierced the skin of her palms but she barely felt it. Waves of fury rolled off her as the blood rose to her cheeks. The term anger, barely even touched the tip of the volcano that she so clearly was in that moment.

Hearing muttering from the room behind the reception, Delilah pulled out her pistol before advancing towards the noise, rage controlling her every movement. With one deep breath, Reyna kicked down the door with all her might.

From just a simple glance Reyna already knew there were a mixture of people with weapons and with combat training and people that were just like civilians. Locking onto her first target on the right she used her left forearm and hand to hold the man's chin up before firing two rounds into his stomach and throwing him onto the ground. Next she aimed rapidly at the man behind her fallen target, drilling a hole straight through his head before shifting her attention to her left and dragging her pistol right underneath her left arm allowing her to fire one shot straight into an approaching man's chest and another one straight through his head eliminating three targets within the span of a mere three seconds.

Initiating her pistol stance once again she advanced into the room ignoring the hollering non-combatants she managed to only see the rushing man from the right grab a hold of her right wrist a second too late but that didn't matter to her as she simply used her free hand to slam against her opponent's own wrists loosening his grip on her armed hand allowing her to shoot him directly into his thigh before extending out her left leg tripping him up before firing a round through his head. 

Watching attentively as another running man approached her Reyna fired one last round directly into his chest but only managing to stun him causing the military veteran to push on his right shoulder before slamming the magazine end of the pistol against the man's throat and attempting to fire another round into his chest but the only sound that entered her ears were screaming and the metallic clicking of an emptied gun. 

Wasting no time Delilah flicked the emptied magazine out of her pistol before slotting another one in and cocking the slide allowing her to drill a hole through the man's head as soon as he recovered. 

Audible yells could be heard coming from the backdoor entrance causing Reyna to turn a 180 towards the door before spotting another assailant rushing carelessly into the massacred room resulting in a bullet lodged into his head and chest as well as his buddy that came behind Delilah just as she killed him.

Catching her breath behind a nearby pillar she heard footsteps just behind her cover and her suspicions were soon confirmed when she peeked out of her cover to see the tip of a shoe peeking out of the other side of the pillar creating an unfortunate event for the man as a hole was punched through his toes causing him to stagger out into the open allowing Reyna to grab a hold of his shoulder as she shot one bullet into his crotch, chest and then finally head before kicking him towards a door behind him granting the seasoned warrior entranced into the ritual room.

Anticipating another combatant to be on the other side of the door Reyna went onto her back as her prediction came to life allowing her to twist his legs in such as way that he immediately tumbled onto the ground allowing her to lay her left knee on it giving her enough time to eliminate the last enemy within the previous room. Feeling the cultist struggle under her weight Reyna used her left hand to force his face down letting her get a clearer visual on an armed man racing up the stairs killing him before he could even have a chance to fight back before finally killing the man underneath her rendering the two rooms void of any screams or gunfire. 

Ignoring the mountain of bodies she left behind Reyna stepped onto the nearest elevator before sliding her fingers down the black screen, a downwards cyan arrow flashed briefly before another voice call entered the machine.

"I'm willing to take full responsibility for the horrible events of the last 24 hours but you must understand. Our interest in the human genome is purely for the betterment of mankind"

There is a wrinkle in her nose that has nothing to do with a coming sneeze, muscles tight, jaw clenched as she stared downwards to see a mutilated human corpse. The cracks of her fingers echoed around the elevator room as Delilah's sneering face focused on the screen.

"Everything has clearly gotten out of hand now, yes, but it was worth the risk. I assure you"

There was a scream from deep within that forces its way from her mouth, it is as if her scarred soul had unleashed a demon. All she felt was wrath, all she felt was that the moment she gets her hands on that scientist she was going to rip her limbs one by one. And she knows she's hiding a truth from herself, of how much this is really to do with sadness and the scars that just won't heal. Yet the fists clench and her teeth lock up as she smashed the entire glass screen with her elbow, the cuts don't matter to her anymore. She needed to find the bitch.

\---

**Deep inside the facility, Same time**

"Have a drink, bud"

A middle-aged man wearing a green and orange jacket stood behind the safe room's bar, watching as a young blonde man was standing grinning with slight anxiety. A caucasian man was leaning on the bar with a lit cigarette in between his fingers. Patting his associate on the back they casually walked towards the bar where they faced each other before clinking their glasses. Drinking it all in one go the middle-aged man sighed before looking up into the air and grabbing his collar.

"That's a nice jacket"

A light Swedish accent emanated from his voice as the man behind him spoke.

"Yeah"

He sounded more French than the two of them highlighting his identity.

Looking back at the smoking man behind him the middle-aged man turned his head back towards his mercenary before using his right hand to punch his stomach directly backing away as he fell to the ground gagging and throwing up the recently consumed alcohol onto the floor.

"Clean it up!"

The man said as he threw a white towel at his son whilst the French man stared becoming fidgety.

"I should go, Breach"

The man started speaking in his native Swedish tongue irritating the French man.

"In English please"

"Stay goddamn it!"

Rolling up his sleeves the Swedish man approached his son whilst his associate watched from behind.

"W-What did I do?!"

"You fucked up!"

"We did what you asked. No one saw shit!"

Sighing he finished rolling up his sleeves before harshly grabbing his son's collar and yanking him back onto two feet.

"I'm not talking about Valencia you know"

Wiping his hands on the bar table he leaned against it whilst his hired mercenary finished wiping off his own fluids from his jacket.

"You mean the uprising? So I told Kingdom about somebody's sister so they would raid this place!"

Punching his mercenary once again in the stomach making him collapse onto one knee his French associate began to fidget heavily with his cigarette before attempting to turn around towards the exit.

"The fuck, Breach?!"

"You stay!"

He pointed aggressively at the smoking man calming him down before turning his attention towards his associate again seeing him look up at him and the man behind Breachwith perplexed but also angered eyes. Putting on his blazer he tugged on the sleeves as the two mob bosses looking at the stunned young man.

"It's not what you did, that angers me so. It's who you did it to"

"Who? The fucking nobody?!"

"That fucking nobody... is Delilah Velázquez"

Finding another drink on his table, his associate watched as he slowly drank from it seeing that his hands were visibly shaking.

"She was once an associate of ours. We called her Death Blossom"

"Death Blossom?"

"Well Delilah wasn't exactly The Dullahan. He was the one you sent to kill the fucking Dullahan"

"Oh"

Realizing the dangers of the man once unknown to him the mercenary watched as Breach tugged on his sleeves before walking back towards him.

"Delilah is a woman of focus, commitment, sheer will. Something you know very little about. I once saw him kill three men in a bar with a pencil. A fucking pencil"

Turning around Breach walked towards the French before mimicking him stabbing the man in the neck making him jump.

"Then suddenly one day he asked to leave. It's over her family of course. So I made a deal with her, I gave her an impossible task, a job no one could have pulled off. The bodies she buried that day laid a foundation of what we are now" 

Pouring another drink he walked back towards his associate who tried to look everywhere except his employer.

"And then, buddy. The day her sister got injured. You tell Kingdom that she's Delilah's sister and tell them to go fucking kidnap her"

Shaking his head whilst taking another drink he tried to move away from the mercenary but to no avail as he rushed towards his disappointed employer.

"Breach I can make this right!"

"Oh how do you plan that?"

"By finishing what I've started"

"What? Did you hear a fucking word I said?!"

Grumbling Breach embraced the man, patting him wholeheartedly on the back before pulling on his hair as roughly as possible.

"Delilah will come for us. And she will do nothing to stop because we can do nothing so get fuck out of my sight!"

Pushing the mercenary towards the door he watched him rush out of the building before turning his head towards his associate. Watching him head towards the exit Breach made no attempt to stop him this time.

Breach opened his mouth to speak to his assistant but was halted when his phone started ringing.

"Hej"

"Jag kommer"

A too familiar Mexican voice entered his ears as the call ended causing the phone to slowly slide off his hands and clatter against the floor.

"Lo Spettro"

Steeling his nerves, he picked up an additional glass before pouring some more alcohol into it.

"I don't drink, Breach"

His remaining associate muttered causing Breach to let out a shaky breath of fear.

"It's not for you"

Almost immediately, the door swung open once more followed by the thud of the mercenary's body slamming against the floor, the sanguine liquid from the hole in his head leaking onto the wooden floor as Reyna stepped over his corpse.

"Breach! Good to see that you've survived this coup"

Sighing in relief, Delilah approached the Swedish man, swiping the prepared drink and finishing it within one tip of the glass before turning her attention to his associate.

Reaching inside her coat pocket she pulled out the picture of him talking to Kingdom agents before showing it to the man.

"Where is she?"

"I-I don't know. I-I didn't start this c-coup"

Sliding her photo right inside her coat pocket once more, Reyna began to brandish her gun right in front of the anxious Frenchman.

"Ne jouons pas ce jeu"

"D'où vient cet photo?"

"D'un ami... qui m'a chaudement recommandé votre l'information"

Immediately knowing that someone ratted him out, the man sighed before collapsing on a chair behind him.

"Je vois... Vous connaissez mon conditions, Madame?"

"Oui. Et vous devriez connaître les miennes"

"Ma sœur et ma mere est tout ce qui reste de ma famille. ils sont blessés ici et ont besoin d'aide. Ta joie est le prix de leur sang, et vous allez m'aider à trouver less salauds qui ont fait ça"

Knowing that his life is unravelling right in front of him, he tried hitting a button on his watch but was promptly halted when Delilah fired a round right through his arm.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Touchez pas à cette alarme. Je veux Hawthorne. Sabine Hawthorne. Où est-elle?"

"Nos clients ne donnent pas leur adresse. Nous ne somme pas..."

Losing all of her patience, Reyna grabbed a hold of the man's neck before moving her face ever so close.

"...Pas ce genre de peuple?"

The metallic ringing of a knife being unsheathed could be heard before the man saw it in Reyna's hands. Prying open his mouth, Delilah delved into his mouth with the blade, seeing a few metal teeth to which she found revolting.

"Des dents en métal, huh? Pas en or. On a peur que quelqu'un vouys le vole?"

Digging the blade into the golden teeth she began to pry them away from the flesh whilst Breach simply watched from behind, ignoring the screams of the man to stop this torture.

"Ici!... Hawthorne est ici! Cregagh! Oh, pitié... pitié!"

Moments before Breach would have intervened a loud clink could be heard as his metal teeth fell to the floor as Delilah began to step away. Seeing his hands on the bar table, Reyna let out one last yell of wrath before impaling the man's hands onto the bar table, letting loose another scream that echoed through the hotel.

"Merci"

Holstering her pistol she yanked out the knife before taking a seat on the bar stools.

"Ça me ferait tellement plaisir de vous tuer. Alors, croyez-moi... Si vous prevenez qui que ce soi de mon arrivée... je vous retrouverai."

Kicking him away from her and Breach, Delilah watched him scurry away until the only people left were the Death Blossom and the infamous Swedish thief.

"Pour me another one"

"I-I didn't know you spoke French"

Pouring Reyna one of his most expensive drinks she began to smile as she started consuming the beverage.

"Had to stay in Toulouse for a year to eliminate a target back years ago. Picked up the language there. Hmmm, nice drink. What's the poison?"

"A-A Bowmore 1957 scotch whisky. An antique"

Smirking, Delilah finished her glass before flashing Breach her signet ring.

"I need access to your armoury. Rescuing my sister"

"Of course. Free of charge this time, for the inconvenience"

"Awww, Breach. You're too kind"

Bringing the famed assassin to the back of his safe room, he reached underneath his bed to bring out two duffle bags.

"Ammo is all you need I presume?"

"Yes. Thank you"

Hooking the bags onto her shoulders with ease, Reyna nodded her head before turning to face the door.

"We could always use an extra hand, Breach and it looks like you're no longer needed here. Care to help me get my sister back?"

Already comprehending that this was not a demand but a request, Breach reached under his bed before pulling out a shotgun.

"Yes. Let's go"

\---

After what seemed like a while they had finally navigated their way to the base. Izzie had thought she could do it on her own being a natural-born fighter and so forth but eventually Olivia was forced to use a drone to go in the sky temporarily and see where it was, thankfully Omen made bases practically the size of his own ego so it wasn't hard to miss.

They made their way round to the side. Delilah used her binoculars to see if there were any agents on the outside and thankfully it seemed all clear. She gave a signal and the soldier and the rest of her team moved swiftly towards the wide door.

They broke it open quietly and Delilah looked around until she saw the vantage point she had seen on the blue print. She used her grappling hook and got up. Her binoculars spotted two guards and she quickly eliminated them.

As soon as the shots had been fired more enemy agents had arrived and filled up the area quickly. The team soon scrapped their 'go in quietly plan' and it became a bullet party and bangs were going off everywhere. Somebody already had her shield up and was protecting her weakened friend. Delilah tossed them a medkit at him and he was soon ready to unleash his very best once more.

Izzie was getting all of them off her ally's back to let them get a little bit of breathing room. She was going to shoot but he heard the familiar noise of a certain someone teleporting to another area. The Omen was indeed here.

"Omen is here! I'm going after him."

They all replied saying they understood and she went off on her own. She needed to find Omen and put a stop to all of this.

It had been at least 10 minutes later and they were still fighting with everything they had. Izzie hadn't replied back yet, showing still no sign that Omen had been captured.

Delilah was injecting herself with rounds of adrenaline and shooting bullets, helping her team but she injected another adrenaline shot she felt a presence behind her and she turned her gun on the figure. She fired all she had but the agent was quick as he avoided all or her shots. As she was in the middle of reloading the Kingdom agent tried to punch her off but she grabbed him by the throat and attempted to throw him off.

As they stuggled he was going to reach and grab her hand but she wasn't going to let him have the satisfaction and she backhanded him with so much force he fell off the high area.

However, in doing so she realised she had made a bad move as she realised she had backhanded him with her hand too roughly and due to a mistake at the tailor it had always been one size too big and thing tend to fly out of her pockets.

She felt the old picture slip out of her pocket and she practically threw her body over the edge trying to grab but she just missed it. She growled as she saw it fall into the mummified hands of Omen. He admired it and saw that it had a bloodied picture of both Delilah and her sister. One of her mother's friends had calmed down from his rage and saw that Omen was trying to get to Delilah and he jumped over quickly ready to deploy his grenades on him.

"Thanks." Omen said as he once again dissolved into a screen of smoke like matter, avoiding the man's barrage of explosives by a hair. He slithered away from both of them and dropped a smoke bomb filling the room quickly, leaving the two of them choking. When the smoke cleared they tried to find him but he had vanished without a trace.

As Omen left the other Kingdom agents soon followed. Leaving the base nearly completely empty. All of the operatives regrouped in what seemed to be the Kingdom main control room. From what it seemed Izzie was pretty roughed up but still having that ready to fight look about her while the rest of her team was cut head to toe but none of them were glad.

They hadn't found Vetra.

Kingdom still had her.

As they looked around for anymore agents there seemed to be one hiding behind a desk, he had gotten a bullet stuck in his arms but it wasn't a fatal shot. Delilah took this as an opportunity to ask the questions she needed answered.

"Where is Vetra Velázquez?" Delilah said pointing her gun at the opposing agent still with her mask still on. She could tell she was terrifying him and she would have probably cared before but not now. A very important life was on the line.

The gunman muttered a quick who before trying to reach for his gun yet again, clearly not having any luck with his arm being useless.

"Vetra Velázquez, The talkative annoying one." She said losing her patience she pressed it to his head one more time seeing if it would jog his memory.

"That chick. I won't tell you." He was going to be a pain to get to talk but Delilah would do this all night if she had to.

"Do you have a family?" She said confusing everyone else.

"What?"

 _"Do you have a family?"_ She replied with more force.

He nodded yes, clearly nervous that she was going to try and pull something dangerous.

"We can find them and take them away from you before you can cry to your pathetic little boss. So tell me where my sister is before I cut off all of your mother's fingers!" She said venom dripping in her voice. As well as the stranger she was beginning to scare her teammates as well. Izzie hadn't seen much of Delilah in combat since she was a newer addition to the team but the stories she had heard were beginning to confuse her. She was made out to be like a soft little Mexican bunny but this side made her seem like a feral animal.

Hearing only dead silence from the soldier, Reyna's patience soon ran thin as she forcefully pinned the man's left hand onto the wooden floor before taking out her knife and stabbing through his ring finger making every one of her teammates jump as the man's pained screeches echoed across the empty facility.

" **TELL ME**!"

"In Bangor! She was moved to the Bangor base earlier. They going to keep her there for 3 days. Please let me go. I don't even want this job. I have the location here. It'll take one or two days to get there." He said pleading for his life. Delilah rolled her eyes and took her knife off him. He shakily handed over a small, black USB card with a small skull on it.

As soon as she swiped it out of his hands he ran in the opposite direction.

She waited for him to run off like a coward before she dropped her interrogator act. She turned and saw all of her teammates looking uneasily at her. She had probably scared them but they should know her by now. Nice most of the time but if you messed with her or anyone she deeply cared for you would feel her unforgiving wrath.

"What?" She said trying to change the situation back to normal.

"Omg Delilah you totally pwnd that dude, GG." Izzie said giving her a victory pose. She two was also trying to relieve some of the tension.

 _"What?"_ Amelie replied with even more confusion at the young girl's speech.

She looked down at the USB and slid it into her jacket pocket. They studied it and planned their next step of attack. It would need to be a lot better than their last two. They had walked into two Kingdom traps and they couldn't afford to fall for a third one. But now they were under a time restraint.

No matter what they were going to get their girl back.

Vetra would get home.

Even if Delilah had to infiltrate the camp itself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Music I listened to on this chapter:  
> Tiësto - The Business  
> Sam Tinnesz - Leading the Pack  
> Harina - Liar


End file.
